Chairman Tom Wheeler to Invite Debate on Classifying Broadband as a Utility

When Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler releases his plan to regulate broadband networks on Thursday, he will invite debate on whether the government should make a move the agency has long avoided: classifying broadband Internet as a public utility for regulatory purposes.

While it sounds obscure, the movement for such reclassification has become something of a rallying cry among advocates of net neutrality, the idea that broadband companies must treat all Internet traffic equally. With...